Candidates running for California’s 51st Congressional District are proposing drastically different foreign and domestic policies, as the cost of conflicts in Iran and Gaza continue to ripple throughout the Middle East and San Diego County ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

Incumbent Democratic candidate Sara Jacobs, 37, is seeking a fourth term in the House of Representatives. Her Republican challenger, 28-year-old Ricardo Cabrera, is running for office for the first time.

Jacobs currently serves on the House Subcommittee on Military Personnel and Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations. She is also a ranking member of the Subcommittee on Africa, a subset of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Cabrera says he holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in cybersecurity from Grand Canyon University. He owns Grace Guard, a cybersecurity company, and is co-founder of a start-up called Grand Slam Gaming LLC, according to the candidate.

The 51st District is entirely in San Diego County and includes El Cajon, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and the San Diego neighborhoods of Mission Valley, Normal Heights and Mira Mesa.

Both candidates were asked about their backgrounds, what their term in office would look like, conflicts in the Middle East and crises in their district, including affordability, housing and homelessness.

On Iran and Gaza

The war in Iran and blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has officially taken the lives of seven American service members, increased oil prices and put further strain on the economy.

As the USS Abraham Lincoln returns to San Diego after nearly 265 straight days without a port call and eight reported suicide attempts from its strike group, both candidates have different views on the conflict and its effect back home.

Cabrera said he’d like to see an end to the Iran War and a full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, but he believes the U.S. needs to disable Iran from interfering with American interests long into the future, saying, “If that means dropping bombs, putting warheads on foreheads, then I’m for it.”

Jacobs opposes using the military in Iran and believes the war has “no stated objective, no strategy” and is “not worth it.” The incumbent is also worried about dwindling munition stockpiles and “readiness concerns” for military engagements in other parts of the world.

“Frankly, it’s the military families in my district who have been the loudest in asking me to do everything I can to end this war and bring the service members home,” Jacobs said. “Deployments are hard, but these are harder than normal. And this shouldn’t be treated as sort of a routine thing that we ask for our service members.”

As a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a Jewish-American with family living in Israel, Jacobs chooses her words carefully describing the conflict in Gaza. She’s told other news outlets it was “likely” war crimes and genocide occurred, but she told The San Diego Union-Tribune she wanted to wait until the State Department or International Criminal Court labeled it as such.

“I … try and look at the situation in Israel/Gaza the way I look at and hold the same standard as I do for every other conflict,” Jacobs said.

Cabrera said calling the situation in Gaza a genocide “doesn’t make sense” and that he supports the U.S.’s sale of arms to Israel. He added that he doesn’t trust the United Nations, which released a report in 2025 labeling Israel’s actions as a genocide but admitted he did not read the report.

“Americans, we are a warrior culture. Ultimately, when we look at our founding, it was through violence,” Cabrera said when asked about Gaza. “And so I believe … when we go to war we should win and we should do everything possible to win.”

Affordability, housing and homelessness

Jacobs aims to push back on President Donald Trump’s efforts to cut Medicaid, housing vouchers, grocery assistance and Social Security. She also said if Democrats retake the House in November, she’d like to make it easier to build more housing through tax credits.

As a yearslong debate about whether to approach homelessness through a housing-first or treatment-first approach continues, Jacobs said she believes in a “multi-modal approach,” which includes unlocking federal funding for both.

Jacobs supports a shallow rent subsidy, which typically provides about $500 a month, but generally believes that treating substance use and mental disabilities is harder if someone is not housed. She added there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to the issue.

“I’m always willing to work across the aisle to deliver for our community, but I also know that so many folks in our community are really struggling right now,” Jacobs said.

Cabrera believes that people should not rely on government assistance at all, though he does support some use of grocery assistance.

Cabrera said the fix to the affordability and housing crisis, particularly for older adults, is through multigenerational housing. Older adults are among the fastest-growing demographic of people falling into homelessness.

Cabrera believes that if people stayed at home with their parents or grandparents, they could save money on housing and be able to take care of their loved ones. If money is tight, Cabrera said, friends and neighbors should provide assistance, not the government.

“That’s what I want. I want that to happen, you know, multigenerational families. That way people can stay with their family until the end, right?,” Cabrera said.

Background

Cabrera said that when he went to a San Diego County Republican Party meeting and spoke with Armen Kurdian — the Republican candidate running against incumbent Mike Levin for the 49th District seat — he was inspired to help the party in any way he could.

He would have been happy sending out mailers or taking notes but the candidate said it was county Republican Party Chair Paula Whitsell who ultimately nudged him to take on a bigger role and put him in touch with Reform California, a conservative political group.

“One of their team members reached out to me and was like, ‘Hey, we really need someone to run for Congress. Are you up for it?’ I was looking to run for something small, you know, maybe just volunteer or something. Like, that’s a big step,” said Cabrera. “And they’re like, ‘Yeah, you got like two days to figure it out because there’s a deadline.’ I was like, ‘Alright, well, no time like the present, let’s do it.’”

Cabrera received more than 71,000 votes and 37% of all votes in the June primary. Jacobs took the top spot, having received more than 111,000 votes and 57.7% of the total.

Jacobs has raised more than $1.6 million seeking a fourth term this election cycle. Cabrera has yet to file anything with the Federal Election Commission, which is required if a candidate spent or raised more than $5,000.

_____

©2026 The San Diego Union-Tribune. Visit sandiegouniontribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.